From my point of view there is another consideration at hand here. A
hardware interface like LP-Pan that provides I-Q signals to a PC sound
card allows the use of other SDR-type software like CW Skimmer, and
while CW Skimmer may not be of interest to everyone I believe other
third party software will eventually show up that would be desirable to me.
One that is dear to my heart would be an application that quantifies
splatter and key clicks from crummy signals. I suspect that would be
difficult for SSB signals, but I can't think of any reason why it
wouldn't be practical for CW.
Another possibility might be an app that profiles propagation over time
based upon received callsigns with the rig otherwise unattended.
The P3 is a panadapter, and by all accounts a very good one ... but an
LP-Pan with the right software could be much more.
73,
Dave AB7E
p.s. As far as I know, the P3 has to generate its own I-Q signals
internally. I've never understood why Elecraft didn't provide them as
buffered outputs from the P3 to make it more versatile. Somebody please
correct me if I'm wrong here.
On 10/14/2015 9:07 PM, Matthew Cook wrote:
Jorge,
Don has given you a good summary of the two devices.
When considering the PC path you should be aware that there is more
opportunity to receive and display a much wider bandwidth than either the
P3 or LP-Pan can provide. At the moment both the P3 and LP-Pan are limited
to 200kHz and 192kHz of bandwidth respectively. So they can see +/-100kHz
or so either side of the current VCO frequency at full span. This is
great for giving you situational awareness of who and what is happening
either side of your VCO frequency.
However if you own a Software Defined Radio and have a transverter
interface in your Elecraft rig, you can take full advantage of the RX Loop
terminals and insert a RF splitter like this (
http://www.minicircuits.com/pdfs/ZSC-2-1.pdf). With this setup it means
that signals come in off your antenna are routed out the RX Loop out
terminal and in to the splitter; one path then turns back into the radio
through the RF Loop In terminals (albeit with a 3.6dB loss) and the other
path can be taken off to the SDR. You need to purchase the RX Splitter
separately ~US$20-40 off ebay.
This splitter effectively puts both your SDR and K3/K3s receivers in
parallel fed off the same antenna, just keep in mind that signal levels
into both the Rx and SDR will be half an S-point lower due to the spliter
insertion loss. If signals fade or are weak, you can switch the RX loop
out of circuit and bypass the splitter, handy trick on a K3 since there's a
button for it. My favourite button actually.
So the hidden benefits of an external SDR in liu of the P3 and LP-Pan are;
- ability to monitor another band and wait for it to open
- watch for 10m activity while 15m is running
- keep an eye on 6m while playing on HF
- Youi can achieve pan-adaptor bandwidths greater than 200kHz
- Watch an entire band for activity at once BW > 400kHz
The downside however is that the SDR's that can survive strong signals
without turning up their toes will cost you hundreds of dollars, theres
more software work and jigging and poking of software to get them to go.
It is also possible with a tiny bit more software work to have the SDR and
K3 frequencies and mode track, which means you get mouse control over the
K3 where you can click on the SDR waterfall on the PC and have the K3 track
the SDR, you can also have the SDR change bands when you press the Band
Keys on the K3.
I personally find that with a good SDR I've not felt the need for the
second RX option in my K3 yet. I do however use a RFSpace Cloud-IQ that
can monitor 1.8MHz with a reasonable dynamic range. Previously I've used
the RFSpace SDR-IQ and Funcube Dongle Pro plus, results with both were
excellent. I prefer SDR Radio for my pan-adaptor. We've used this setup
in our multi-multi contest QRO contest station for a number of years, 24"
portrait pan-adaptor displays are now common in our club.
However as Don has already mentioned, you need to decide on a PC (LP-Pan or
SDR) or no PC path (P3).
There is alot of fun to be had with an external SDR too if you want to push
the boundary. All of the devices discussed work as described, I don't
think you'll be disappointed which ever way you go. I will however be
selling my LP-Pan2 adaptor in the not too distant future.
I hope that the above helps. YMMV.
73
Matthew
VK5ZM
On 15 October 2015 at 13:24, Don Wilhelm <w3...@embarqmail.com> wrote:
Jorge,
The goal of both the P3 and LP-Pan (with PC software) is the same -- to
give you a panadapter display of the IF output of the K3 (K3S) or any other
radio.
The P3 does it by direct digital means and displays the resulting spectrum
and waterfall on the native screen. With the SVGA option, it can display
the same information on a larger SVGA monitor - no computer is involved.
LP-Pan is a hardware box that takes the IF output and produces I/Q
quadrature audio outputs. Those I/Q outputs must be sent to a soundcard
and processed by a computer running SDR software (HDSDR, Win4K3suite, NaP3,
etc.) to produce a spectrum display and waterfall.
If you are trying to decide between the two solutions, consider the
"computer or no computer" considerations. LP-Pan requires a computer to
process the I/Q signals, but the P3 (with or without the SVGA option) is
independent of an external computer. The P3 with SVGA option simply
provides a larger display on an SVGA monitor (no computer involved).
If you are willing to deal with 'computer things' like soundcard setup
problems and software application setup problems running on the computer,
then LP-Pan may be an OK solution for you. However, if you want something
that can provide a panadapter display without dependency on a computer,
then the P3 would be the best choice (with or without the SVGA option).
73,
Don W3FPR
On 10/14/2015 9:01 PM, Jorge Diez - CX6VM wrote:
Hello
I am looking for information about LP-PAN 2 and the P3 SVGA
Not understand at all about them, are the same?
May I use LP-PAN 2 without P3 or there´s any benefit using both LP-PAN 2
and
P3
Or is better to use just the P3 SVGA
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